Lily's Laugh
by Hermione W. Cullen
Summary: Could it be that, just this once, James is actually serious? Lily/James, obviously. Oneshot.


Year 7

Year 7

"Go out with me?"

It was different this time, Lily's bones were telling her. It was a request, not a command. It was the thousandth time he's asked her, but it was the first time he'd really _asked_ her.

"Lily…will you go out with me?"

That would explain why he looked so nervous this time. His bottom lip was sucked in slightly, so she could tell he was biting the inside of it. His eyes pleaded with her, though it was clear he was trying not to let them. Lily was stunned that he seemed so affected; though it had been obvious for an excruciatingly long time that he _liked _her, she never thought she really _meant_ that much to him. It had seemed like he just thought of her as a particularly good challenge to overcome. But seeing him standing in front of her, so real and so human, was something. James Potter had peeled aside his mask of laughter and shown a bit of himself to her, and that was…_really_ something.

"_Lily_?" She snapped to at his undue irritation. She realized something…he wanted her to reply. He was expecting an _answer_ this time around. Oh, bugger.

"Ah…er…" Lily hedged tactfully. She needed a moment to sort it out…this was the last stretch of the war. She'd already lost the most important battle—the battle with herself. For the last year and a half she had been denying to herself that there was something to James' character; for a year and a half she had also been denying that she liked that something. But lately her defenses had been imploding. She had already let the idea of James into her mind; was there anything really left to keep fighting for?

Lily made a snap decision.

"Yes?" she said tentatively, feeling the strange shape of the word on her lips. She never thought she'd understand what writers meant when they talked about something feeling wrong and right all at the same time. But here, defying her convictions, her reputation, her long-standing tradition of refusing him…nothing had ever felt quite this perfect.

"What?" James said bluntly, his face unabashedly shocked.

"I said yes…James…yes, I will…thingy. Gooutwithyou." Even though it was what she wanted, she hated saying it out loud. It sounded so…so…so…_date_-y.

"Really?" He was joyful now. Within a second, however, his jubilant expression faded into a suspicious one. "Wait a moment…is this a trick? It is, isn't it? Oh, that was a good one, Evans, you almost had me fooled…is Remus in on it? Come out, Moony, I know you're there! I'm proud of you, Evans, I didn't know you could go that low…"

Once her momentary bewilderment wore off, Lily had to work hard to keep from laughing.

"No, James," she said softly. James looked up at the sound of his first name. It wasn't something he heard from her very often. "Remus isn't here. It's just you. And me, er…me saying yes. To you." That wrong-but-right feeling was definitely making itself known.

"So…wait a moment." James looked dazed. "What exactly does that 'yes' entail?" Lily gazed at him in slight puzzlement. "I mean," he clarified, "Am I allowed to do this?" he took her hand in his. It was soft and dry, and much warmer than she'd imagined. Much _better_ than she'd imagined.

"Generally, it does," Lily agreed cautiously.

"What about this?" James moved his other hand up tentatively and rested it on her cheek, giving Lily a not-entirely-unpleasant shock.

"I guess so." Lily wanted to slap herself—she was flirting! But…wasn't that what you did with your boyfr—oh no, she was _not_ going to _think _that word! She was still wired to believe that the phrases "James Potter," "flirting," and "boyfriend" did not belong in the same train of thought without the word "not" repeated several times and the occasional cactus thrown in.

"What about—this?" James asked, his voice quavering ever so slightly. Then, tenderly but with firm resolve, he dropped her hand in order to wrap his arm around her waist. He pulled her toward him, and she barely had time to wonder if this was what she wanted before it was happening.

The kiss was brief, but warm. Lily felt the warmth right to the center of her body, as if a big fireplace had suddenly turned on in her heart the moment his lips touched hers. It wasn't her first kiss, but it had to be her best.

"Is that okay?" James whispered, elated but unsure.

Lily moved his arm off of her waist, but kept his hand. "If it's really necessary," she replied, grinning a tiny grin. An enormous smile lit James' face, and he was back to his usual cocky self almost instantly.

"You put up a good fight, Evans," he smirked, "but I knew you were no match for my charm in the long run."

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter," she replied automatically. "Although," she added in a slightly softer voice, "that was a pretty good bit there, with the…" she looked pointedly at the hand he still rested on her cheek.

"Thanks," he replied, letting the hand drop casually to his side. "I've been practicing that moment for a long time."

Now, finally, after all the jokes at her expense, after all the cackles of mirth that had followed her up the corridor…now it was Lily's turn to laugh.

……………………………………………………………….

_Sorry I'm doing this instead of updating any of my other stories, but I couldn't resist. Just so all of my reg-a-lur readers know, I'm gonna be away at theatre camp for about 10 days, so I won't be posting anything. Leave plenty of reviews for when I get back!_Jam


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